In the Pink on Pink Saturday - Love those Pink Miniatures!

It's another Pink Saturday, so I decided to come play again with Beverly and the crowd.

First stop, I checked out two blogs, hello to Barb at Dogmom Diva (love that name!) and Tricia at Altered Schoolmarm.





First Goal: Click for Breast Cancer!


Just go here and click to provide free mammograms to women in need!


What else is Pink this week?


I'm featuring some fun pink miniature foods I came across - many you can wear, too!

There's something fun about miniature food. Besides being calorie free, it's attention-getting, charming, and well, I have to say it, just plain cute!

* Etsy.com is a great place to find unique miniature food made mostly of polymer clay that you can admire - and wear. There seems to be a lot of people who like to wear their food as earrings, rings, brooches and pendants, etc. A few examples I found:

* Paris Miniatures' pink cappuccino cup earrings.

* French miniaturist Stephanie Kilgast (PetitPlat) does some yummy miniature food in pink! How about this wonderful "Princess Delight" pink layer cake? (see photo above) and a yummy looking pink tart ring.

* Now this is cool! Danzdzynes' makes scented cupcake and donut charms! How fun! (Don't wear when you're hungry. ha!)

* I scream, you scream...Dirtroadsouth offers a fun ice cream cone pendant, 1 1/4" tall.

* Beadpassion has pretty items like this pretty Strawberry Fields cupcake pendant. I Love the details.

Are you hungry yet??

Hope you have a great week!

** Now that you have your dessert... how about enjoying it with a cup of coffee or tea, and a copy of one of my books? **

Perfect for Halloween! - "The Witch Tree" - Will it be him... or them? Jimmy Grayson thought he found utopia - and then they came.

A spooky short story. Buy at Fictionwise.






* In Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, Sam and her bff, Lita, along with a mischievous Dachshund named Petey, face a dog-hating gardener, an angry housekeeper, and an ancient family curse in this middle grade mystery.

(Available in print, ebook, and Kindle - ages 8/9 and up.)

October is National Dollhouse Miniatures Month

I surely want to tout my favorite hobby since October is National Dollhouse Miniatures Month. (Pictured: My wizard dog)

I've been collecting for more than a decade and unlike some things, I still haven't tired of miniatures. My problem now is not finishing things!

If you haven't seen it, take a look at my collection at the Verstraete Miniatures Gallery

The nice thing about the hobby is you can try all kinds of crafts: dressing miniature dolls, painting, decoupage, clay modeling, and more.

Here are some sites with fun easy projects. Try one! And have a look around. Maybe you'll get inspired!

* Misshelly's Zoo has some fun how-to projects like making your own craft table and scrapbook scene.

* Ha! Check this out: These miniature clay dolls sing! Beware they sound like mice on speed, but they're cute - and animated!

* Check out Jim's site for the best selection of dollhouse printables (printies).

* I also have two pages of miniature book printies on my website.

Have fun!

First Graphs: Crossing the Centerline by Allan E. Ansorge

Welcome to Allan E. Ansorge, author of CROSSING THE CENTERLINE (Echelon Press, July '09), the first in a six-book mystery series set in Wisconsin.

Someone is trying to kill Carl Fletcher, and for the life of him he can't figure out why.

After what appeared to be a hit-and-run accident that cost the life of his fiancée, the full use of his right leg, and his career, Carl seeks a new life as a charter boat captain.

While he is out of town, another failed attempt is made on his life. His ex-partner in the Wisc. Sheriff's Dept. learns nothing is being done to find out who's hunting Carl, so he and Carl's internet-addicted, gun-toting mother, set out to find who wants Carl dead and hopefully stop them.



Excerpt from CROSSING THE CENTERLINE:

Chapter 1 - Things Do Go Click In The Night

It wasn’t what Detective Michael McCaffery heard that woke him, but rather what he didn’t. Something familiar was gone. He had been living on this boat for three weeks now. The groans of the lines, the squeaks of the dock bumpers, and thumps of the hull had given him many sleepless nights. By now he was used to all he should have been hearing and wasn’t.

He lay in the queen-size bunk in the aft cabin and tried to figure out what had changed. Mike really didn’t want to brave the dew before the sun was high enough to drive the chill from the air. There was something wrong, though; he could feel it.

Mike was a transplant from New York’s Hells Kitchen, a true Irish copper. He claimed to be what his grandfather called Black Irish, which prompted most people to think he was Italian. Whatever his inherited traits were, they did not include a love of the sea. He never cared much for water of any sort, especially if it wasn’t in a glass and couldn’t be called a chaser. But when a friend asks you to keep an eye on the one thing left in his world he truly loves, you compromise.

For the last month someone had been vandalizing boats in marinas up and down the Lake Michigan shoreline from Port Washington to Kenosha. The timing couldn’t have been worse for Mike’s friend Carl to leave his boat unattended for a month.

** Buy: Amazon.com

Miniatures How To by Margaret Grace, author of Mourning in Miniature

For Part Two of our visit with Margaret Grace, author of the Miniature Mystery series, including the just released MOURNING IN MINIATURE, we're featuring a special post today: an easy miniature how-to.

Make an Easy Miniature Hat and Purse Set - By Camille Minichino/Margaret Grace

I'm not your typical miniaturist—infinitely patient, with a large dose of perfectionism.

I'm the quick and easy kind of miniaturist, much like the main character in my Miniature Mysteries series. Like Gerry, I'm thrilled when I can make something in less than half an hour and have it look good!

Here are some examples. The hats and purses pictured are so easy to make, they're day-care projects.

Easy Handbags

Materials: FIMO or other craft clay; pieces of thin chain (rummage through your jewelry drawer for those broken necklaces); embellishments (trims, flowers, beads, feathers); varnish or glaze.

Tools: Toaster oven, craft knife, scissors, small paint brush, tile or work surface.

1. Choose a block of colored clay and break off a piece that will be about the size of a regular marble when rolled between your palms.

2. Knead the clay until it's a workable ball.

3. Roll out clay (tile surfaces work well), as you would a pie crust (not that I've done that) with a pencil or dowel until it's about 1 1/2 inches wide on the long axis of an oval.

4. Use a sharp craft knife to trim away edges, leaving a rectangle.

5. Fold the bottom third (approximately, depending on the style purse you want) over the rest of the rectangle, leaving the top third to fold over for the purse's flap.

6. Before pressing the layers down, insert a piece of chain to make a strap.

7. Seal the edges and bake in a toaster oven according to directions that come with the clay – generally about 250 degrees for about 15 minutes.

8. Make several purses in different styles and colors, some wide, some deep, and bake all at once for efficiency. When cool, purses should lift off the tray easily.

9. Paint the entire surface of the purse with varnish or glaze to give a more realistic texture.

10. Add embellishments for a "clasp" or elsewhere on the purse. On the purse shown, I sprinkled shredded foam for a whimsical effect.


HATS

1. Start out the same way, but with a larger ball that can be rolled into a circle from 1 to 2 inches in diameter. A smaller circle will give you a cloche-like hat; a larger circle ends up with a brim.

2. Pick up the circle of clay and form it using your finger or another bowl-like object. Allow the clay to droop over the tip of your finger. The floppy part will be the brim, which you can shape any way you want: turn it up, trim to make even, or leave it as it is, crimping it into folds.

In this case a scissors works better than a knife-to protect your finger! The hardest part is getting the "bowl" of the hat to look right. If you've rolled the clay too thin at that spot, it will split and any patching will show.

3. Bake and handle as in above steps 7 through 10.

Use the hats and purses to accessorize any shadow box or room in a dollhouse. Or make dozens and open a hat and purse shop!

**Fun - and easy. Who can beat that? Thanks, Camille!

** Read about the Miniature Mystery series.

** Read about Camille Minichino/Margaret Grace and see her miniatures in part 1.


** Buy:

Welcome Margaret Grace, miniaturist and author of Mourning in Miniature!

Today, I welcome special guest, Camille Minichino/Margaret Grace, miniaturist and author of the wonderful Miniature Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime.

Book four in the series, MOURNING IN MINIATURE comes out today! Be sure to check out the contest after the interview - and come back tomorrow for a special how-to by Margaret!

In MOURNING IN MINIATURE, miniaturist Gerry Porter has been looking forward to her thirtieth high school reunion. But when a former athlete is murdered, Gerry must employ all her skills to reconstruct the scene of the crime. Read the prologue of the book.

Writing What She Loves:

Camille Minichino built her career writing about her favorite topics. Given that she has a Ph.D in Physics, it seemed natural for her to write her first books, the Periodic Table of Elements Mystery Series.




Under the pseudonym Margaret Grace she's thrilled to now be writing about another of her passions - dollhouse miniatures - in her popular Miniature Mystery series. The Miniature Mystery Series includes: MURDER IN MINIATURE (Feb. '08); MAYHEM IN MINIATURE (Aug. '08); MALICE IN MINIATURE (Feb. '09); and MOURNING IN MINIATURE (Oct. '09).











As a writer, and a collector, Camille has the best of both worlds! (Who says you can't be paid for your hobby? Hmm, wonder if that qualifies miniatures as a tax deduction now? ha!)

Camille knows she's lucky to be able to do what she enjoys. Writing "was the next thing to do once I finished with physics," she says. "I'm definitely blessed. My hero was Isaac Asimov who wanted to 'never have an unpublished thought' and I'm on my way!"

Making Miniatures a "Crime"

Camille actually found inspiration for some of her miniature scenes through her first series of eight books, beginning with THE HYDROGEN MURDER.

Since her protagonist Gloria Lamerino, a retired physicist who consults with the police on science-related murders lives above her friends' mortuary, Camille naturally had to make the scene in miniature.

She also enjoys creating different miniature scenes and vignettes to give away as promotional prizes or to auction off for charity. This hospital scene was auctioned as part of a May 2009 fundraiser for the Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, Cal.

Not surprisingly, many of Camille's other scenes center on mysteries, too. Bet you never thought of a bullet casing as the perfect miniature vase, did you?



So, what's next in miniature?

She says, "usually I'll teach myself a new technique and then use that for a couple of scenes. I have a new product that is great for making mini flowers and I'll be taking it to Bouchercon for the 'Make-and-Take' in the crafts room."




(She'll be explaining how she makes her miniature flowers in a craft workshop at this month's Bouchercon mystery conference, held Oct. 15-18 in Indianapolis.)

It should be interesting to see what reaction the miniatures get from mystery lovers. She says the response usually is encouraging: "I get a lot of people who just like the idea of Murder She Wrote meeting Nancy Drew."




Now about the Books:

Q: What is your favorite part of writing?

A: "The research. My favorite part of working on MALICE IN MINIATURE was researching the Lincoln-Douglas debates, which provide the backdrop for the story. I was writing it around the time of our 2007-8 debates here. It was fascinating to compare the formats (long, issue-oriented speeches in 1858; sound bites in 2008!)"

Q: How have the books changed as the series moves along?

A: "I had to figure out what Gerry's arc would be. She's been a widow for two years. Time to break out and be open to new relationships? Turns out, not! That had to wait until the new book, MOURNING IN MINIATURE."

Q: You mentioned getting stuck when you write - did you get stuck in this one? How'd you work your way out of it?

A: "I always get stuck! I write too sparsely, then have to go back and pull out threads and add subplots to reach my goal of 80,000 words. In MALICE IN MINIATURE, (not to give anything away), I pulled out a character in the television studio and gave her a family, and so on."



Q: How many hours do you write? Do you have a special writing spot or office?

A: "I'm lucky to have a well-equipped office, but I also carry my characters around in a notebook and have them join me in coffee shops. I don't have a set, structured schedule; that would freak me out."

Q: How much promotion do you do?

A: "More and more it seems. It's almost scary to go to sleep, lest I miss an opportunity to socially network. This year I've been to LA, Omaha, San Diego, Washington DC, New York, and I'm headed to Indianapolis and then Boston. The mileage for my local travel last year was the equivalent of crossing the country."

Q: What are your other jobs?

A: "I work part time at several jobs -- scientific editing at a lab; teaching an online science class for a university; teaching workshops at community colleges. The specifics are on my website, http://www.minichino.com/ under classes."

Q: Any thoughts on publishing and the changes going on like the Kindle?

A: "My books are on Kindle, though I don't have one. I'm waiting for all the beta versions to be finalized! I do think e-reading and e-publishing are here to stay and grow, though I'm nostalgic about the smell of paper and ink or the 'feel' of a paper book."

Q: What keeps you motivated in your writing?

A: "I love book events and talking about my books, words, the writing process. I think I write so I can talk."

Q: How in the world do you juggle it all: job, meet deadlines, promote minis, arggh!!! (Are there two of you? ha!)

A: "Once you get to my advanced age, you need less sleep!"

Q: This isn't the last in the series, is it? So, what's next?

A: "There's another coming in the spring, MONSTER IN MINIATURE. It's a tough decision how to age characters, especially this little girl. I don't want to deal with teens, fictional or otherwise, so I'm keeping her preteen no matter how long the series goes on!"

Q: Any new ideas and projects?

A: "Always! I'm working on a TV treatment, a feature film, a mainstream novel, a kid's science book, a romance, a business communications book ... and of course another mystery series that I can't reveal yet!"

Q: After that, is there anything else left you'd like to do?"

A: "All of the above, and then go to lunch with Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Russo, and a hired assassin."


CONTEST & GIVEAWAYS:


** Buy:




** Read about the Miniature Mystery series.

** See her miniature how-to in part 2

Miniatures Monday: Keep It Clean!

Other miniaturists understand how far we all will go to achieve realism in our dollhouse and miniature projects.

But.... this time, I think my friend, Kitty, has gone too far.

Cleaning is one of those things you try to avoid in real life, right? It's the last thing you want to do...

Well... Kitty recently added some "essentials" to her 1" scale (1 inch = 1 foot) Canal House that she's been working on.




She's even thrown in the soap and dirty rags! Now that's dedication! (I am teasing her, of course!)



Seriously, she did a great job! Kitty has a knack for adding little details and a lot of realism to her projects. I love seeing what she comes up with next. You can see more of her work at her blog, Minis by Kitty.

A Blog A Day.... NaBloWriMo

Figured I already had a lot of posts scheduled for this month, so I'll be joining a bunch of other bloggers this month for the daily NaBloWriMo blog.

This is a take-off on the annual NaNoWriMo each November where writers finish a novel in a month.

Instead, the NaBloWriMo group will be doing a blog a day all October. And I already have my novel almost done (almost if I can get the last 65 pages done! Nudges, nags and questions are welcomed!)

So stop by each day and see what's blogging! Some events are in the upcoming guests list in the right column. Be sure to check out the other participating blogs also!

Happy Blogging!

Another Pink Saturday: Pink miniatures and more

Another fun PINK Saturday and time to visit with the "Pink Ladies." Thanks again to Beverly for inviting everyone to get out and mingle. See the full list of participants at her blog, How Sweet the Sound.

First off, I took a peek at Connie's Living Beautifully blog and she really loves pink! Even her laundry room is pink. Too cute!







**An important PINK NOTE: Clicks have dropped at the BREAST CANCER Site. Go HERE to click daily to help women get a free mammogram!**

So, I'll start my Pink Posts laughing about those false teeth jokes. Why? Because they happen in miniature, too! Pink is the color of the Dogcatcher's false teeth, trapped by the dog in my miniature Dogcatcher's House.




Speaking of dogs... my real life canine, Shania, has a very pink nose. Here she is howling again.





And since it's almost that spooky time of year, I just had to include a photo of lovely Lydia sitting by her pink table. (Hey, you think she's reading a copy of SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT or THE WITCH TREE?)

Hope you enjoyed your visit! Take a look around and be sure to come back again!

First Graphs: Too Rich & Too Thin: Not An Autiobiography, a mystery by Barbara DeShong

Prepare for big laughs in this Texas-sized mystery by psychologist Barbara DeShong.

In TOO RICH AND TOO THIN: Not an Autobiography, (Echelon Press, Oct. '09), Psychologist Jessica LeFave isn't your average shrink. When she's summoned to profile the killer who drove a spike through the heart of the notorious Bernice Jackson, Jessica is more than a little excited.

Not because Bernice Jackson is dead, but because Bernice, who'd soared to fame and wealth by shamelessly re-writing treasured historical events into wildly successful soft-porn novels and movies, was a psychiatry patient of her husband's at the time of his death.

She's convinced her husband was murdered to keep a secret revealed in therapy buried. Now she's trying to prove she's right as she uncovers clues in a family stranger than any Hollywood script.




Excerpt from TOO RICH AND TOO THIN, Not an Autobiography:

Here's the truth about psychologists:

We endure all those years of school-the killer exams, even graveyard shifts interviewing God-talkers and mothers who drown their babies-because we want to help people, of course. But that's not the brass ring. The top prize, once we're stamped and certified, is that we dan draw a line in the sand. Crazies on one side; psychologists on the other.

Well, that's not how it worked out. At least not for me.

My name is Jessica Rose LeFave, Ph.D., P.C., and I could not breathe.

I was parked on the curb at 44 War Admiral Run at the Flower Mound Country Club, staring up at the ugliest mansion on the planet.

* Buy: Amazon.com

* Buy: Echelon Press

Featured Guest: Miniaturist Alice Zinn and her Amazing Miniature Dogs!

Today, I welcome guest Alice Zinn, who creates an array of realistic dogs and other miniature animals.

(Don't forget to check the blog special and contest at the end of her interview!)

Pictured: Amore del Puppy, patterned after The Lady and the Tramp

Even as a child, Florida miniaturist Alice Zinn knew the difference between real and collectible. Eight-year-old Alice was sick with chicken pox when her grandmother gave her a china replica of her collie, Lady. She loved it, but never thought the dog should go in her dollhouse. “To me, it was a statue, not a ‘real’ dog,” she says.

Old English Sheepdogs

Red Hat dog

In her 20's she began what many would consider a "dream job" - making miniatures professionally. Now 30 years later, she continues to provide collectors with a range of quality miniatures, including realistic dogs, cats, birds, and other animals that they can’t wait to add to their dollhouses and miniature scenes.

Borzoi
Why does she do it? For two reasons: she loves it and she loves to create.

“I love the process of working in a way which I think of as ‘inside out’,” she says. “I design pieces and THEN figure out how to achieve them.”



Chinese Crested Dogs

Of course, as much as she loves creating in miniature, there is one drawback…

“Designing is my passion, re-creating the same piece dozens of times is my curse!” she notes. “I enjoy learning, and developing new techniques and finding new media to make the pieces I design.”

Custom dog
One of her favorite aspects of designing is working with a theme. It's like potato chips... you can't have just one.

"When I am inspired to make something new, I usually work in themes, or categories," she says. "For example, a few years ago I got interested in making some Art Deco stuff, so I made everything from furniture to knickknacks for that period. The same with my line of Egyptian minis, wedding themed items and many other themes."

Even better is when that theme comes as a special order, like the amazing miniature circus she began working on in 2001.


In This Ring…


The circus, housed at the Miniature Memories Museum and Dollhouse Shop in Charleston, South Carolina, includes more than 100 animals and figures.

Then there are props and accessories such as tents, the bandstand, souvenir cart, signs, etc. It’s still a work-in-progress, with the audience members as yet to be completed.

(Note: Photos of the circus are not on the museum site and can be viewed at Alice’s webshots pages, see circus album. You may have to create an account and sign in to view the photos.)

Lions, Tigers, Bears, Oh My!

Another large-scale project, “Disembarking,” was shown at the spring 2006 Bishop’s Chicago International Show. It took her three months to make the room, which features a backdrop of an original pastel painting by her mother, Julie Pantages. It shows 108 animals Alice made that have left the Ark after the flood waters receded.

That's just a fragment of the incredible assortment of miniatures that Alice has made over the years. For her and her customers that's the best part - seeing what new creation she comes up with next.

Alice agrees that she is lucky - she has a job that's fun, creative, and that she doesn't mind doing every day. She jokes, "needing to eat and pay bills keeps me going. And...this is probably the best job I can get at my age! LOL. But seriously, what I enjoy about it is the creative process, and the freedom of being my own boss. I'm a night owl so making my own time schedule suits me."


Notable achievements:

* Making an 8-foot-long miniature circus with more than 100 pieces.

* Making 108 animals for an original Noah’s Ark scene.


Worst moment?

* "It had to be the very first show I ever did, an outside craft show, where it began raining in the middle of the day, or the first Ann Weiner Miniature Show in NJ where I sold one piece to another dealer during set up and nothing else for the rest of the show."

Of course there was that tree in the Noah's Ark scene, which, she admits, "took several days alone" to glue over 1,000 leaves.

Most miniaturists might pause at that thought, or even give up; not Alice, who calls it, "sort of a Zen couple of days."


Blog Special:

** Get Alice’s fun how-to book, A DOG FOR ALL SEASONS with instructions to make more than 15 holiday dog outfits. (The outfits can also be adjusted to fit other animals.)

The A DOG FOR ALL SEASONS set, which includes the book, plus a kit with fabric and accessories to make 15 of the outfits, is available for $25. (Dogs not included.) Seven sets are available. The book is available individually for $10.

See details at her webshots link above or here.

Blog Contest:

* Share your favorite dog story, or a story about one of Alice’s mini dogs or other animals, in the comments section and you can win your own book/kit set of A DOG FOR ALL SEASONS. (Dog not included). Contest ends 10/15/09.

NOTE: If you have one of Alice’s dogs or animals, send me a photo of it alone or in a scene with description (to chrisATcverstraeteDOTcom) and I’ll post it for you. This is for photos with descriptions ONLY.

Comments without photos must be posted on the blog to be entered. Emailed comments will not be considered. **Be sure to include an email, blog address, or name of miniatures list you’re on so we know where to find you if you’re the winner.** (Note: Comments are manually approved so will not show up on blog immediately.)